Fan and canopy assembly for riding vehicle

ABSTRACT

A riding vehicle is provided with a downdraft fan assembly mounted on a vehicle roll bar for providing a flow of ambient air over the vehicle operator and a canopy carried by the fan assembly and providing solar and precipitation protection for the operator.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/548,402 filed on Aug. 26, 2009, which claims the priority under 35U.S.C. §119 to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/091,812 filed on Aug.26, 2008, and the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to accessory equipment for riding vehiclesand, in particular, to a fan and canopy assembly for a riding vehicle.

BACKGROUND

In my prior patent, U.S. Pat. No. 6,202,394 entitled “Downdraft FanSystem for Riding Lawnmower” issued Mar. 20, 2001, there is disclosed adowndraft fan system for riding vehicles, such as lawn/farm equipment,that provides a constant flow of ambient air downwardly over theoperator to provide protection from heat exposure, dust, and bitinginsects. The system has been well accepted and has provided improvedworking conditions for the operator under adverse environmentalconditions. I have determined, however, that under severe solar andprecipitation conditions additional protection for the operator would bedesirable. While numerous canopies are available for open air vehiclesof many types, they are not compatible with the ease of installation andoperation of my fan system. These canopies would overlie the fan andinterfere with its operation by restricting flow air thereto. Further,the position of the fan beneath the canopy draws air from ground levelresulting in an undesirable presence of dust, insects and contaminantsin the circulating stream. Moreover, their independent mounting wouldrequire additional mounting hardware adding expense and introducingsupport structure interfering with operator vision and freedom ofmovement.

SUMMARY

The present invention provides a canopy and fan system for ridingvehicles wherein a canopy is directly mounted on the fan, without theneed for additional mounting hardware. The canopy includes an inneropening circumscribed by an inner flange that overlies the perimeter ofthe fan assembly without limiting air flow to the fan blades. The flangeis attached to existing fan structure thereby providing convenientretrofit or new installation. The opening may be covered by a roof capthat allows free air intake while shielding against sun andprecipitation. This new fan and canopy system has been found to resultin substantially cooler operating conditions even under extreme solarand moisture conditions.

In one aspect, the present invention provides A fan and canopy assemblyfor a riding vehicle, said vehicle having a generally verticallyextending U-shaped roll bar assembly including a horizontal transverseupper arm located behind an operator seat for the vehicle including agenerally rectangular tubular frame member connected at a rear end tosaid upper arm or said roll bar assembly and extending forwardly andhorizontally therefrom, said frame circumscribing a frame opening abovesaid operator seat; downdraft fan connected to said frame member andmounted in said frame opening; a canopy having a center openingcircumscribed by an interior peripheral flange engaging said framemember; fastener means connecting said canopy to said frame member, saidcenter opening providing an inlet for said fan and drawing inlet airfrom above said canopy for direction over said operator seat and saidcanopy providing protection for said operator from solar and moisture.The fan and canopy assembly may also include an apertured panel in saidframe opening and a pair of strap members connected transversely to abottom surface of said canopy with center sections spanning saidopenings, wherein said fastener means are connected said center sectionsof said strap members to said apertured panel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other features and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent upon reading the following description taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a riding vehicle with a canopy and fanassembly in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the riding vehicle of FIG. 1showing the underside of the canopy and fan assembly;

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the canopy and fan assembly;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the canopy and fan assembly;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the fan and canopy assembly;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view taken along line 6-6 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a view taken in circle 7-7 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 is view taken along line 8-8 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 9 is a view taken along line 9-9 in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 10 is a bottom view of the canopy of the fan and canopy assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to the drawings, FIGS. 1 and 2 show an open air motorizedriding vehicle, such as a lawn mower 10, having a canopy and fanassembly 12. The canopy and fan assembly 12 is supported on a roll barassembly 14. The canopy and fan assembly 12 extends horizontally fromthe roll bar assembly 14 forwardly over and above the operator seat 16and as described below provides solar and precipitation protection forthe operator and a downward flow of ambient air to provide protectionfrom heat exposure, dust and biting insects.

Referring additionally to FIGS. 2 and 3, the canopy and fan assembly 12comprises a downdraft fan assembly 20 carrying a canopy assembly 22. Thefan assembly 20 is supported on the lateral horizontal cross member 24of the roll bar assembly 14. As additionally shown in FIG. 8, the fanassembly 20 is independently mounted on the cross member by laterallyspaced U-bolt assemblies 26. The canopy assembly 22 is solely supportedon the fan assembly 20. The fan assembly 20 comprises a generallyrectangular peripheral support frame member 30 having laterally spacedside legs 32 and longitudinally spaced front and rear legs 34 and 36respectively. The rear leg 36 is connected to the cross member 24 by apair of U-bolt clam assemblies 38. The bottom of the frame member 30 iscovered by an apertured grille panel 40, wire mesh, expanded metal orthe like. The down draft fan 42 at attached to the panel by fasteners 44as shown in FIG. 3. The fan 42 is connected to a power cable 46connected to the power supply of the vehicle and controlled by anoperator switch 48 with a control knob 49 mounted at the rear side ofthe panel 40 within convenient reach of the operator. Construction onthe fan assembly is set forth in my prior referenced patent, which ishereby incorporated by reference.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the canopy assembly 22 comprises a moldedfiberglass shell 50 and a roof cap 52. The shell 50 has a generallyrectangular, slightly domed, roof section 54 peripherally terminatingwith a downwardly extending outwardly flared peripheral rim 56. The roofsection 54 includes a rectangular opening 58, centrally laterallypositioned and longitudinally positioned toward the rear. The opening 58is located so as to position the fan directly above the operator seat.The opening 58 is defined by a peripheral flange having front and rearends respectively and spaced sides. A pair of spaced lateral reinforcingand mounting straps 60, 62 are attached to the bottom surface of theroof section 54 across the opening 58 by suitable fasteners 64. Thestraps 60, 62 provide structural reinforcement for the shell andmounting sites for attachment of the shell to the fan assembly. Thefrontal strap 60 includes an arcuate positioning bracket 66 that engagesthe front cross member of the fan frame member 30 to longitudinallyposition the canopy assembly thereon in assembly. The straps 60, 62 andthe roof section 54 include through holes 68 in the center section. Asshown in FIG. 6, the canopy is mounted on the fan assembly and connectedat the straps 60, 62 and aperture grille panel 40 by fasteners 69. Theroof section 54 of the shell 50 includes a rectangular central opening56 defined by a peripheral inner flange 58. In assembly, the opening 56aligned with the opening in the fan assembly 14 and sized such that theflange 58 overlies the frame member 30 of the fan assembly 16 and theouter perimeter of the grille panel, without obstructing air intake flowto the down draft fan 42.

The roof cap 52 includes a rectangular top section 70 havinglongitudinally spaced downwardly inclined depending legs 72 terminatingwith outwardly turned flanges 74. In assembly, the top section 70 of theroof cap is slightly larger than the central opening 58 in the shell 50to provide precipitation and solar protection thereover. The top section70 is spaced vertically above the roof section 54 to provide side intakeports of sufficient size for the flow capacity of the fan. The flanges74 of the roof cap 52 are attached to shell by suitable fasteners 76.

For assembly, referring to FIG. 7, the rear leg of the fan assembly ismounted on the cross bar of the roll bar by the U bolt assemblies. Thecanopy assembly 22 is placed over the fan assembly 20 and the openingcentered with respect to the fan with the bracket 66 on the strap 60engaging the front cross member of the frame member 30 of the fanassembly. The canopy assembly 22 is thereafter laterally andlongitudinally aligned on the vehicle. Threaded fasteners 64 areinserted through opening in the grille panel 42 and the holes 68 in thestraps 60 and the roof section 54 and connected with nuts to securemounting of the canopy assembly on the fan assembly. As shown in FIG. 9,the operator switch is mounted on the screen above the driver seat andconnected between the fan motor and the vehicle power supply.

It will thus be appreciated that the canopy assembly may be connectedwith existing fan assemblies for retrofit applications, or furnished asan accessory package on new or existing equipment. The mounting of theassembly accomodates a wide range of commercial vehicles without furtheror extensive modification. Moreover, if desired, the roof cap may beoptional and the lateral orientation of the vents changed to alongitudinal flow through passage.

Having thus described a presently preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, it will now be appreciated that the objects of the inventionhave been fully achieved, and it will he understand by those skilled inthe art that many changes in construction and widely differingembodiments and applications of the invention will suggest themselveswithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.The disclosures and description herein are intended to be illustrativeand are not in any sense limiting of the invention, which is definedsolely in accordance with the following claim.

1. A canopy assembly for a riding vehicle, comprising: a canopy; anopening in the canopy, the canopy opening being sized and adapted toaccommodate a downdraft fan attached to the riding vehicle, wherein thecanopy assembly is adapted to be secured to the downdraft fan such thatthe canopy assembly extends substantially above one or more seats of theriding vehicle, and such that the canopy assembly provides one or moreoperators or passengers of the riding vehicle at least some protectionfrom at least one of sunlight or rain.
 2. The canopy assembly of claim1, wherein the canopy and canopy opening are arranged such that, whenthe canopy assembly is secured to the downdraft fan, inlet air for thedowndraft fan is drawn substantially from above the canopy and isdirected over one or more operators or passengers of the riding vehicle.3. The canopy assembly of claim 1, further comprising a roof cap adaptedand sized to be attached to the canopy in a position substantiallycovering the canopy opening.
 4. The canopy assembly of claim 3, whereinthe roof cap is adapted to be, when attached to the canopy, verticallyoffset from the canopy such that lateral air flow to the downdraft fanis substantially unimpeded.
 5. The canopy assembly of claim 1, whereinthe canopy is generally rectangular.
 6. The canopy assembly of claim 1,wherein the canopy is constructed of fiberglass.
 7. The canopy assemblyof claim 1, further comprising a frame which supports the canopyassembly.
 8. The canopy assembly of claim 1, wherein the canopy assemblyis secured to the riding vehicle by connecting a rear end of the canopyassembly to at least one of a roll bar or roll cage of the ridingvehicle.
 9. The canopy assembly of claim 8, wherein the canopy assemblyextends substantially forwardly and horizontally from the roll bar orroll cage.
 10. The canopy assembly of claim 1, further comprising anapertured grill panel engaged with the canopy opening.
 11. The canopyassembly of claim 10, wherein the apertured grill panel is constructedof at least one of metal wire mesh, metal grill material, or a syntheticgrill material such as plastic or fiberglass.
 12. The canopy assembly ofclaim 1, wherein the canopy assembly is adapted to be retrofitted to anexisting downdraft fan on a riding vehicle.
 13. The canopy assembly ofclaim 1, wherein the canopy assembly is provided with the downdraft fanas a package to be installed simultaneously on a riding vehicle.